History: Part 7 Part I of II
by bowtruckle90
Summary: Eight installment of the Severus/Joanna saga. Please read parts 1-6 or you will be lost. Everything with the exception of Joanna, Lucan, Eric and Marvin are the Property of JKR. Rated M for safety.


"Glad to see you've joined the side of righteousness."

Joanna did not enjoy the idea of spending alone time with Voldemort, but the thing is that most other Death Eaters were busy during the day making themselves appear to be contributing members of society. Those who didn't had their own mansions to dwell in, i.e. the Malfoy clan. Severus was still asleep, and while he was, Wormtail had come to collect Joanna, who hadn't slept at all, for a private meeting over breakfast with Voldemort.

He was eating nothing though there was fruit and waffles laid out for her benefit. Joanna herself did not feel much like eating. Instead she sat across the long banquet table from the Dark Lord, silent, eyes averted, and controlling her thoughts.

"You needn't be afraid of me my dear," he said. "Severus is one of my most trusted followers. I highly appreciate his loyalty, and as long as he remains so you have nothing to fear. The contingency of bringing you hear was…regrettably…that I not lay a finger on you. And so I shall not."

Joanna shifted her eyes to look at the face of her one time captor. "Am I here as a guest or am I here to serve some larger purpose, my Lord?"

Voldemort smiled. "My dear, you are an extraordinary witch. You could be even greater under my instruction. But I only entrust action to my Death Eaters, of which you are not a part. No, my pet, you will be just as unimportant as Narcissa is when she descends upon this house." He paused. "I think that was what you desired, is it not?"

"It is."

Footsteps fell out in the hallway. In a moment Severus appeared with both of their cloaks in hand. He waved to Joanna to come to him and she did. "Sincerest apologies, My Lord, but we should be heading home."

"Why not stay for breakfast, Severus?"

Severus helped Joanna into her cloak and responded with, "I'm afraid we are due for breakfast elsewhere My Lord. An old friend of mine; a Ministry official, you understand."

Voldemort stood and Severus and Joanna both bowed before exiting the dining room.

They walked together across the yard toward the Apparation point. "That was brave of you," Severus said.

"I feel sick."

"Did you eat anything on that table?"

"It wasn't the food, I didn't eat anything. It was just…being in the same room together."

Severus stopped her and stooped a little to look in her in the eye. "If you can't do this-"

"Can we discuss this when we get home?"

Severus nodded solemnly and together they reached the Apparation point to return to Spinner' end. They were not in fact having breakfast anywhere but their own home, though it was considerably different without Lucan and Marvin, even Wormtail had been moved so now it was just the two of them in the big house. When they returned and had clambered down the closet stairs to their underground home, Severus sat with Joanna on their living room couch.

"You don't have to do this you know," Severus said softly. "You can stay here. Or you can stay with Lucan at Eric's place. Whatever you want, you don't have to do any of this."

Joanna shook her head. "I want to. I do have to."

"Why? Because you told Dumbledore you would? Listen this is a difficult situation-"

"It's not that. I need to do this. I think it will give me closure. What happened to my mother, what happened to me…I can get past it if I can just stand up and prove I'm stronger than he is."

Severus thought this was an inane concept. With Albus gone who was stronger than Voldemort? Magically, no one. Their only hope was Harry Potter. Still, he felt it was wise not to say this and simply respect her wishes. "Fine."

Joanna coughed. Severus noted that she was still very pale. He lifted her chin and took a good look at her. Joanna smiled. "I'm fine Severus. I'm not bewitched, I'm not poisoned. I'm just nervous."

She went to their bedroom for a nap, and Severus sighed. "Marvin, could you get me the key to the Gringott's vault please?"

There was no answer. Severus realized that Marvin was at Eric's, with Lucan. With another heavy sigh, Severus set about the house looking for the key. After a half hour he just used a summoning charm and it flew to him from underneath a floorboard. He was always impressed with the intelligence the house elf presented. Severus swept on his cloak and left, quietly, for Diagon Alley the end of which was taken up entirely by the bank.

He walked into the lobby and presented his key, after which one of the goblins led him to his vault. Severus opened it and closed the door behind him, leaving his escort outside to wait.

The inside of the Snape vault was cavernous. Joanna's was about the same size, but hers was mostly filled with gold and a few of her more dangerous inventions from the alchemy days along with her father's notes and books. Severus had less gold than she did, only slightly, and way more paraphernalia. There were potions, poisons, rare ingredients, on shelf after shelf. But what he had come here for was something far more valuable than any of these. He never thought he would need to use it, but considering his wife's condition after only one night in the presence of Voldemort, inside that house, if ever there was a time to use the one thing his mother left him, now was it.

In the very back corner of the vault there was a stand on which stood an ebony wood box. Inside the box was an amulet of Serendibite. It was a semi-opaque cyan blue stone, extremely rare in both the wizarding and muggle world. Muggles held the last three faceted stones, none of which had been dedicated with magical properties. This stone however, dwarfed all the other three, which only weighed a carat apiece. It was a square stone about a hundred fifty carats set into a silver setting on a braided silver chain. It was the only thing of value Severus' father had not pawned for money in the muggle world. Eileen Prince had been very secretive about this artifact, obtained by her great-grandfather on a trip to Sri Lanka and handed down through generations. Severus took possession of it the moment she died and had not looked upon it since. On her deathbed, Eileen had told him that the stone had a massive power to protect when gifted to someone in love. It was a dangerous thing to have this sitting around Joanna's neck,; should Voldemort notice he could very well attempt to use it for himself and alter the properties to include anything he desired. Despite that fact, this was his best shot to keep Joanna safe.

When Severus arrived home, he awoke Joanna and sat with her on the bed. He drew the amulet from his pocket and Joanna gasped in amazement. "This is something I was handed down from my mother who had it from her ancestors. It's a very rare piece with very strong magical properties." He placed it around her neck. "Promise me you'll wear this until this whole thing is over. It will keep you safe."

She placed a hand over the stone and said, "I promise."

Joanna stood on the balcony, hugging herself from the breeze. Though the night was warm, there was a deep chill in her. This could very well end in disaster. She knew that if Harry was being moved tonight as their information said, Alastor would be there. He had no remorse for anyone who worked for Voldemort, and he had never liked Severus to begin with.

Severus had left with Voldemort himself and several other Death Eaters hours ago to sit and watch the house in Little Winging. Bellatrix had gone, and Narcissa was waiting anxiously alongside Joanna for the return of the party.

She had been particularly kind to Joanna since the siege on Hogwarts. Her husband had been far more dedicated in recent months since his escape from Akaban. His wand had been wrested and the family, except Bellatrix, of course, were little more than servants since the folly at the Department of Mysteries. Out of concern for her sister, Narcissa sat up into the night and waited with Joanna. Joanna thought a large part of it was that this woman could see more than a bit of herself within Joanna.

"Come inside," she said. "They won't come any faster jut because you stand there waiting for them."

Joanna ceded her stance at the balcony and stepped back into the drawing room. Narcissa had been set to packing various items in the Riddle house to be moved to her own home. Since they had let a traitor into the house, the basis of operation needed to be changed, and the Malfoy house was chosen without debate. Narcissa was packing some dark items into the few boxes on the middle of the floor. There was the grotesque hand Draco had used to light his way in the dark on the night of the siege, and there was also a collection of wands from those who had been killed recently. Almost a dozen. Various other artifacts, such as necklaces, books, and the like were also waiting to be packed away.

Joanna sat down on the floor beside Narcissa and started to wrap a crystal ball in newspaper. "Thank you," Narcissa said with a smile.

Everything was packed away in little more than an hour and this left the women alone in the house with nothing to do but sit together on the drawing room sofa and wait.

As the drowsiness swept over Joanna she heard Narcissa say, "I sometimes wish this would all end. I wish my family had never gotten involved in all this."

"Don't we all?" Joanna mumbled before dropping off into darkness.

It was nearly two in the morning by the time Joanna was shook awake by Severus. He was holding her broom she had loaned him. "Time to go," he said. After getting her up and out onto the balcony, she sat behind Severus on the broom and wrapped her arms around his waist tightly. She had never flown from the Riddle house to Spinner's end before. It was going to be a long flight, she thought, but before long, Severus landed somewhere she recognized but certainly was not home. They were at Eric's home in a mostly wizarding town some thirty miles from the Riddle house.

Once she recognized the town Joanna couldn't get off the broom fast enough. Still several feet off the ground in Eric's front yard she jumped down and went to the door, banging insistently. Voice came from the other side.

"Who's there?"

"Eric, it's Joanna! Let me in."

"Where did we first meet?"

Joanna pulled a face. "Let me in to see my son or I'll hex your right through the door Eric!"

The door opened immediately and Joanna rushed through. Being familiar with the house, she tossed her cloak aside and rushed toward the back rooms. Severus followed her inside. "Evening Eric."

"Evening Severus."

"You opened the door without her answering the question?" He was referring to the security questions that were standard in the wizarding world now to make certain your visitor was indeed who they said they were.

"If she had answered without threatening me, then I would be concerned. What's going on?"

Severus closed the door behind himself. "Nothing good."

Before long Joanna had gotten Lucan up from bed and came into the front room again with her son wrapped in a blanket. She sat on herself on the couch and stroked Lucan's brow, crooning him back to sleep in her arms. Severus wanted so badly to hold his son, but from the looks of things anyone who tried to pry him from Joanna at the moment might well have his nose cursed off. So instead he sat on the couch with his wife and Eric took a spot close by on his coffee table. "So what's going on?"

"Well the Order moved Harry tonight. Unfortunately someone had a slip of the tongue and Voldemort found out. I was on a mission tonight to try and intercept the boy; thankfully he got away. Unfortunately others did not. I had to curse George Weasley's ear off, Mundungus Apparated his way out to avoid the killing curse and when he did…Alastor was killed."

The room quieted. "Alastor's gone?" Joanna asked.

Severus nodded gravely. He knew what Joanna was thinking. It was why he brought her here. Joanna was Alastor's right hand for the Priory. With him gone and her underground with Severus, who would take over? The Priory couldn't fall apart; without them the Order could not be successful. The only person who knew that Joanna and Severus were truly on the Order's side in this whole mess aside from Minerva McGonagall was Eric, thanks to Joanna's instruction to Marvin. Given that, Eric would have to step up and lead.

"I need you to do what you can to be the Priory Master, Eric. Give whatever story you can think of to overrule anyone who thinking you're not the right choice. If all else fails, tell them the truth, show them the letter if you need to, but I want you in charge while I'm gone. I'll put it in writing for you if you want."

Joanna was speaking quietly with a hand over Lucan's ear, but her tone was stern. After a moment, she turned to Severus, "You cursed his ear off?"

"Well I would be questioned later if nothing I fired in their direction made a hit. I had to give them something."

Joanna pulled up her eyebrows and sighed and shook her head. But she made no argument. He was right. And it was true enough that Severus could have done much worse. At least the boy lived.

Before long Joanna was stretched out on the couch, sleeping with Lucan beside her. Severus and Eric retired to the kitchen and spoke quietly. "How is he doing?"

"Well, Marvin's been a great help. Smart for an elf. Anyway, he cried the first few days but he's been great since then." Eric paused. "How about the two of you. Are you guys okay?"

"We've been better. I wish she would just drop it and stay here with you. Joanna thinks she needs to help herself get over her past by making a stand like this."

Eric nodded. "Sounds like her." He glanced toward the living room. "She's a tough one. If anyone can pull this off, she can."

Severus nodded and noted the lightening of the sky outside. It was nearly five o'clock. Time to go. They couldn't be seen coming from the house. Lucan could not be found.

Severus woke Joanna with a heavy heart and she passed their son to him and swept her cloak on. Severus held his son close for several minutes before handing the boy off to Eric and scooping his own cloak up from the back of the couch. Together they walked out onto the lawn and Apparated home where Joanna and Severus went straight to bed straight away. Severus slept fitfully for hours. Joanna remained awake, flipping through the photo album from her nightstand. There were pictures of Lucan and Joanna and Severus. Her family.

"What about these," Severus asked, holding up another book full of notes. Without even lifting her head, Joanna called from across the room, "All of it Severus, everything is going."

The night before at the meeting, Voldemort had expressed a light interest in perhaps using Nicholas Flamel's work for his own benefit. Severus had assure Voldemort that Joanna did not have any of her father's research and that it was all lost to her, but he insisted on sending Bellatrix to inspect the vault anyway. So bright and early, Severus and Joanna let themselves into the bank (illegally, but this was a certain emergency to be sure; lock picking was allowed) to collect the various notes and books and experimental items to move them somewhere safe. Matter of fact, they decided that the closer the items were to danger the farther they were from ending up in the wrong hands. Joanna levitated herself and cursed one of the large stones from the ceiling out of its socket. Severus sent the secret items up to her and Joanna shrunk them and embedded them in the earth that was underneath the block. When everything was safely inside and the block was replaced and sealed, Severus and Joanna went back home to wait for Bellatrix.

While they waited, Joanna wrote out two notes. One, she placed at the bottom of her undergarment drawer. One she held in her hand. "Ready?"

Severus nodded. He flicked his wand at her, erasing her memory of that morning. When Joanna looked into her hand, she read her own note: _Make Severus think we had a lazy morning at home. You must do this to save your father's work. Joanna._

Joanna did as her note said, though she wasn't sure why exactly.

In an hour, Bellatrix came knocking on the door of the upper Spinner's End. Together the three went to Gringotts and took the ride down to Joanna's vault. Severus and Joanna had been tense the entire time. They hadn't done anything to protect Flamel's work. It was sitting in plain sight in the vault; books, notes, inventions, everything. Why hadn't they done anything?

But when they entered the vault, everything was gone. Nothing but gold and a few sentimental tokens of no value. All of Nicholas Flamel's research was gone. Bellatrix left them in a foul mood, but Joanna and Severus were just as confused as they had been panicked on the way here. How could it all be gone? Who could have possibly taken it? They searched for nearly an hour before shoving off for home, still befuddled and quite concerned.

A week later, Joanna found a hand written note in her undergarment drawer. _The morning after the meeting where Voldemort expressed an interest in using your father's work, you and Severus shrunk and hid everything in the soil beneath the largest red stone in the vault's ceiling. It's safe._

It was nearly midnight, and Severus and Joanna were just about to bid the Malfoys goodnight from the dinner they had been invited to along with Voldemort himself. Voldemort had retired some hour ago, but now he had sent Wormtail to fetch Joanna. She stepped into the room and waited for Wormtail to close the door behind her. "You wished to see me my Lord?"

"Joanna…please come closer."

Voldemort beckoned her and she stepped as close as she dared to the large chair in the Malfoys' drawing room. No one else was in attendance. They were speaking, one on one. When she stood still again, he spoke once more. "I have been giving it a good bit of thought. I see no reason why you cannot serve me more directly my dear. You are a prodigal woman, better than Bellatrix in many ways, perhaps in all ways. If you were truly loyal to our cause, I believe you would have no trouble promising yourself to me, like you husband has."

"Narcissa has never-"

"Narcissa is not as talented as you. Not by far. I cannot use her. You are quite a different story." He paused, and his eyes became little more than slits. "Well, my dear? What is your answer?"

Joanna could scarcely believe what was coming out of her mouth as she answered. "If you believe I can assist you more, than I will do it."

With that she knelt before Voldemort and pulled up her left sleeve. But he stood, saying, "Oh no my dear. I intend to mark you in a very unique way."

He stooped and dragged Joanna up from her knees. Holding onto the front of her robes in his wand hand, a knife dropped from his sleeve into the other. With his he slit the buttons off of her frock and prodded the loosely hanging fabric open. More buttons fell, more fabric stripped itself away until her chest was revealed in its entirety, collarbone, sternum, breasts and all. The knife disappeared and Voldemort changed the hand holding her still for the other, freeing his wand. He rested the tip on her chest, between her breasts, and before a moment had passed, Joanna felt an intense burning along her skin, as though it were being flayed off layer by layer. She could barely hear herself crying out from all the pain. Even when the wand left her chest, she could still feel the burning as intensely as ever. When Voldemort let go of her, Joanna fell to the floor. Before losing consciousness, she could hear Voldemort call to Wormtail and say, "Fetch Severus please. He and his wife really should be going."

Joanna woke up in her own bed with a cool, wet cloth on her chest. The burning was still there though less intense than it had been. The room was dark. It was night still, but there was no light lit. Severus was there, A mere shadow of a man in the moonlight sitting and watching her. After a moment, he said, "Why did you do that?"

"He was questioning my loyalty. My Occlumecy is strong, he still wasn't convinced, I had to take it."

Severus shook his head slowly. "You're going to be asked to do a lot of things now. Things that you would rather not being doing. You'll be at every meeting, know more than you ever wanted to know. You'll torture if he asks it of you. You'll kill if he asks it of you."

"I can handle it."

"Can you?" Severus was doubtful, and he knew it came through in his voice. "You're the sweetest person I've ever met. This could change you forever."

Joanna smiled sadly and groped for his hand. "I don't want me to change either. I don't want to know everything he's planning, I don't want to kill anybody. Before now I didn't know if I ever could. But I know I can do whatever he sets before me, as long as I'm doing this for my family. I can perform these awful tasks if it keeps my family alive."

"You would trade innocent lives for you own? That's not like you."

"I know. But I highly doubt I will be doing anything…directly. You have your poisons, and I have my alchemy."

"And if he does ask it of you?"

"I'll deal with it."

The day the Ministry fell was a terrible day; one of those things that seemed to have come out of the nightmares of Joanna's past. In truth, the Ministry was still an institution and it still worked as well as it ever did, you could suppose. The difference was that all those who were not behind Voldemort were now on the lam and those who were rose to power. Scrimgeour was no longer Minister. Joanna hadn't the slightest idea what happened to him and in actual fact she had no desire to know. In his place was a man called Thicknesse who was, for all intents and purposes, merely a puppet for Voldemort.

While he had made the interesting promise of action when he burned Joanna with the mark, on this festive occasion he had decided to send all his other lackeys out to terrorize and overthrow while he sat in the Great Hall of Hogwarts school which now stood empty and hollow having drinks with Joanna and Severus. There was a reason behind this of course, and it did not take long to get to the point.

"I want to two of you running this school," he said as a ewer poured wine into three goblets. "You are both teachers here, students are familiar with you. Rest assured everyone else from that despicable excuse of a staff will be terminated in every…practical sense of the term, but as for filling the holes, I will be leaving it to you, Severus, as our new headmaster."

Voldemort paused for a moment taking a sip from his goblet and closing his eyes in enjoyment, an emotion rarely read on this particular face of evil, unless of course he was torturing someone. He placed the goblet back down and continued. "You can have the Cowles and Gibbon too I suppose. Those three won't be of much practical use after this. The rest I'll leave up to you. You know who I need most Severus." Voldemort waved him off, so Severus stood, bowed, and exited the hall without a second glance toward the pair of them. Joanna took a sip from her own as of yet untouched goblet and looked up to the ceiling Voldemoty had temporarily changed to show the goings on in various places. Mostly it was images of the Ministry of Magic, but some were raids on homes and interrogations of innocent people.

"Yes," he said. "Things are finally looking up."

Joanna could not help but to shake her head at all the destruction. It was unimaginable to her, even as she watched, that so few Death Eaters could simultaneously turn the tables of Azkaban, scare people into submission, overthrow a government, and change laws all at once.

"You worry about him."

This comment brought Joanna back to her conversation. "My Lord?"

"Your husband. And your son. You worry about them both. I haven't the faintest idea of where your little one is, and I personally cannot see why you feel the need to shelter him."

"Well, My Lord, even those who are on the side of justice may be killed in the crossfire, though they be completely innocent. My only goal is to make that particularly difficult in the interest of my family."

Voldemort scoffed. "Women. Narcissa was the same way with Draco. You can't coddle them forever, my dear."

"Draco was an infant, and so is my son. I am confident he is safe during this transition."

Voldemort lowered his chin now. "But you do not hold that same confidence in your husband."

Joanna hesitated. Either she was about to receive some information, or she was about to receive an order, or so she felt. Treading carefully, she said, "No, I don't. He is very much involved, of which I am proud…and frightened."

Voldemort sat back. "Well, it is certainly hard to understand the fear you feel, my dear. After all I have no fear of mortality myself." He paused. "You are a truly powerful individual…Do you know what a horcrux is my dear?"

"Yes," Joanna said in a strong tone.

"You know, creating a horcrux is a very simple thing; simple, if you know how…how to shed a small piece of your soul and implant it into another thing. Organic. Mechanical. Dead or alive. This thing takes on a pulse…a life. It may not move on its own, but it is alive. The common technique is through the taking of life. That kind of magical force can fuel an ability to do extraordinary things. But you know, I do sometimes wonder how much of that extra force a truly powerful individual could need."

Severus was back. He walked in and was using his wand to siphon off some blood from his robes. "My Lord, Nott is in the entrance hall and begging your audience. He's had a bit of trouble with one of the raids."

"Oh very well, very well. Send him in and off with the both of you."

Nott, holding an obviously serious open would on his neck together, passed Severus and Joanna in the doorway. Severus closed the doors to the hall and together he and Joanna walked down the corridor.

"What were you two talking about?"

Joanna thought on what Voldemort had said. "I think," she said, "he gave me some very useful information."

Joanna said no more. From behind the doors to the Great Hall, they could hear Nott begin to scream.

Severus woke up alone. It was the middle of the night and Joanna was not in bed. Fearing the worst, Severus got up, grabbed his wand off the nightstand and went looking through the headmaster's suite for her. The whole place was eerie. He had been in these rooms before, but never as the headmaster of the school. He finally found her in the most private room. It was little more than a secret hole in the wall. There were only two items in it: an armchair in the center, and their tapestry from the old quarters on the far wall.

Joanna sat in the chair, knees tucked up under her, and on the tapestry, she was watching her son hundreds of miles away in Eric's home, sleeping. She didn't move as Severus came in and sat on the arm of the chair, draping a hand delicately on her shoulder. After a few minutes, she said, "When I found out he was going to change my life, I was at peace. And then I realized the kind of trouble our world was in." Joanna was quiet again, but only for a moment before whispering into the air, "Happy birthday, little man."


End file.
